MedicalRecruiting.com operates a dedicated orthopedic surgery recruiting division placing general orthopedic surgeons, total joint surgeons, sports medicine surgeons, spine surgeons, hand surgeons, foot and ankle surgeons, and orthopedic trauma surgeons at hospitals, orthopedic groups (including PE-backed platforms), ASCs, and academic medical centers in all 50 states.
Orthopedic surgery is one of the most strategically important physician specialties to hospital and health system economics. Total joint volume continues to grow with the aging baby boomer population, robotic surgical platforms (Mako, ROSA, VELYS) are accelerating procedural innovation, and orthopedic ASCs are the fastest-growing site of service for outpatient orthopedic procedures.
MedicalRecruiting.com runs a dedicated orthopedic surgery recruiting practice that places general orthopedic surgeons, total joint surgeons, sports medicine surgeons, spine surgeons, hand surgeons, foot and ankle surgeons, and orthopedic trauma surgeons.
We work with hospital-employed orthopedic groups, PE-backed orthopedic platforms (US Orthopedic Partners, OrthoForum affiliates, Healthcare Outcomes Performance Company affiliates), independent partnership practices, ASCs, and academic medical centers. Our recruiters understand partnership economics, ASC ownership stakes, and the procedural mix decisions that drive orthopedic candidate acceptance.
Orthopedic surgery has fragmented into multiple subspecialty tracks. Each has a distinct candidate pool and recruiting profile:
General Orthopedic Surgery — Comprehensive general orthopedics often serving as the only orthopedist in a community hospital. Combines trauma call, joint replacement, and broad outpatient orthopedics.
Total Joint / Adult Reconstruction — Fellowship-trained adult reconstruction surgeons performing primary and revision hip and knee replacements. The most actively recruited orthopedic subspecialty.
Sports Medicine — Fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeons performing arthroscopic shoulder, hip, knee, and elbow procedures. Often combined with team coverage relationships.
Spine Surgery — Orthopedic or neurosurgical fellowship-trained spine surgeons. Highly competitive subspecialty with concentration at large hospitals and dedicated spine centers.
Hand and Upper Extremity — Fellowship-trained hand surgeons performing complex hand, wrist, and elbow surgery. Often combined with general orthopedics in small-to-mid markets.
Foot and Ankle — Fellowship-trained foot and ankle surgeons. Smaller subspecialty pool with strong ASC volume.
Orthopedic Trauma — Fellowship-trained orthopedic traumatologists at Level 1 and Level 2 trauma centers managing complex fracture care.
Pediatric Orthopedics — Subspecialty pediatric orthopedic surgeons at children's hospitals managing scoliosis, hip dysplasia, and pediatric trauma. National shortage.
Our orthopedic surgery recruiters work with a broad range of healthcare organizations across the country:
Independent Orthopedic Groups — Physician-owned orthopedic practices with partnership tracks, equity buy-in, and ASC ownership upside.
PE-Backed Orthopedic Platforms — Multi-state consolidated orthopedic groups with significant capital and aggressive growth strategies.
Hospital-Employed Orthopedic Groups — Hospital and health system employed orthopedic divisions, often anchored to total joint, spine, or sports medicine service lines.
Orthopedic ASCs — Outpatient orthopedic ASCs handling joint, sports, hand, and spine procedures — the fastest-growing site of orthopedic surgical service.
Academic Medical Centers — University-affiliated orthopedic departments with subspecialty fellowship programs and research mandates.
Critical Access and Rural Hospitals — Small rural hospitals struggling to maintain general orthopedic capability, often using a small employed group plus locum coverage.
Our orthopedic surgery recruiting process is designed for the specific realities of the orthopedic surgery physician market — competitive counteroffers, long candidate timelines for some subspecialties, and the need for precise practice-environment matching.
Discovery and Position Profiling — We begin by understanding your call structure, patient volumes, team dynamics, compensation philosophy, and growth trajectory. A orthopedic surgery position at a community hospital requires a fundamentally different candidate profile than one at a tertiary academic referral center.
Candidate Identification and Outreach — Our orthopedic surgery candidate database includes active and passive candidates across every subspecialty and practice setting. We combine database matching with proactive outreach to orthopedic surgery physicians whose training, procedure mix, and career trajectory align with your specific position. We do not simply post and wait — we recruit.
Qualification and Vetting — Every candidate we present has been personally interviewed by a recruiter who understands orthopedic surgery as a specialty. We review training background, board status, procedure or panel volumes where applicable, licensure history, and malpractice history before presentation.
Offer Management and Negotiation — Our recruiters manage the offer process from initial conversation through signed contract — including productivity and call-structure negotiation, sign-on bonus structuring, relocation, and income guarantee periods during ramp-up.
Time-to-Fill — We set realistic timelines at search launch based on your subspecialty mix, market dynamics, and offer competitiveness. Most general orthopedic surgery positions fill in 60–120 days; harder subspecialty searches can run 150–180 days.
Orthopedic surgery compensation is among the highest in medicine and continues to rise:
General Orthopedic Surgeons — Total compensation typically $500,000–$700,000 in employed positions. Sign-on bonuses of $100,000–$250,000 are standard.
Total Joint Surgeons — Total compensation typically $700,000–$1,000,000+ at high-volume centers, often with robotic platform incentives.
Spine Surgeons — Total compensation typically $700,000–$1,200,000+ at high-volume centers.
Sports Medicine Surgeons — Total compensation typically $550,000–$800,000, often combined with team coverage relationships.
ASC Ownership — In partnership groups with ASC ownership stakes, distributions can add $200,000–$500,000+ annually for senior partners.
Geographic Variation — Rural and small-metro markets pay 15–25% above national averages with enhanced sign-on, partnership track, and loan repayment.
For detailed compensation benchmarking, visit our physician salary comparison tool. For a strategic overview of the specialty, see orthopedic surgery on our specialties hub.
General orthopedic surgery positions typically fill in 90–180 days. Subspecialty searches (total joint, spine, hand, foot/ankle) typically run 120–240 days. Orthopedic trauma and pediatric ortho searches can extend beyond 240 days.
Yes — total joint replacement is one of our most active orthopedic subspecialty areas. We understand the procedure volumes, robotic platform decisions, and ASC partnership economics that drive total joint candidate acceptance.
Yes. PE-backed orthopedic platforms (US Orthopedic Partners, OrthoForum affiliates, HOPCo affiliates, and similar) are major employers and acquirers in the current orthopedic market. We routinely place orthopedic surgeons at these groups and brief candidates on partnership and equity structures.
We offer contingency engagements (no upfront fee, billed only on a successful start — request a quote at /contact for a tailored proposal) and retained engagements for partnership-track and subspecialty searches.
Yes. Locum tenens orthopedic surgery is a service line for bridging permanent searches and covering parental or medical leave. Typical locum deployment timelines are 4–8 weeks given credentialing complexity.
Yes. Orthopedic nurse practitioners and PAs are central to modern orthopedic team staffing, often in 1:2 or 1:3 ratios with surgeons. We recruit orthopedic APPs through our nurse practitioner and physician assistant divisions.